


Mirrors and Masks

by ZebraLover468



Series: A slightly different character. [1]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Rako Hardeen, Bounty Hunting is cool, Everyone Needs A Hug, How Do I Tag, Infiltration, Mandalorian Culture, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rako Hardeen Centric, Rako Hardeen has a bad feeling, The Box went differently, The jedi investigate, This has already evolved past my original expectations, hidden identity, im making that a tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:01:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22206046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZebraLover468/pseuds/ZebraLover468
Summary: Rako Hardeen is a fascinating character who was never expanded on.So I decided to write him differently than the original, and with character changes comes a different endingORRako Hardeen is a smarter person than he lets on, and hes been in the game too long to not notice something strange about the hit on Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Relationships: Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Rako Hardeen & Jango Fett
Series: A slightly different character. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1598503
Kudos: 6





	1. Rako Hardeen

**Author's Note:**

> As you can see in my summary, I got interested in what would have happened if I made Rako Hardeen have a slightly different character, and the consequences.
> 
> Also im not going to go into great detail in his life, just enough for you to get an idea of his adventures and my story line. and things only really start getting really detailed when I get to the arc he was introduced in. 
> 
> But dont skip to it. Things happening before the arc will be important for it, so please read everything.
> 
> IN THIS STORY THERE WILL ONLY BE THREE MAJOR TIME SKIPS. The reason for the first one is because its his childhood, even though that pretty long. The second is because I need to a very important story point. But dont worry that time skip is still 6 years before the clone wars start. Which is the main part for this story.
> 
> Also its like 9pm and im exhausted so some things might sound weird.

In the winter of 49 BBY on the planet of Concord Dawn, Rako Hardeen was born into the infamous Hardeen clan.

The Hardeen clan was small, but powerful. Its members where ruthless and well trained. Some members left their planet to seek opportunities, while some stayed and fought in many of the numerous wars. Some did both. But no matter what you're intentions were, if you were born into the clan, you were taught how to handle yourself. And Rako Hardeen was no exception to this rule, and like all members, he was a natural.

All members of the clan where told to pick their primary weapons young, and told to choose carefully. Whatever they picked would become an extension of their body, and in some ways, a partner. When Rako first laid eyes on a sniper rifle, he was four years old. As soon as he saw it, he knew it was the one for him. He was sure it was what he wanted, and couldn't be swayed. In the end he got a sniper rifle and started training in all manners of combat a year later. It quickly became clear that while he was decent in many things, his true talents lie in his sniper rifle, and everyone knew he chose well.

Rako was eight and in the middle of his morning exercise when he first met Mord Tanaka. He had heard alot about him, and Rako was in awe. He was a great fighter, but even greater than that was his tactics. Rako absolutely idolized him. So, like a man on a mission Rako talked with Mort everyday, trying to get him to respond back. After a while it became a game between the two of them and Rako could tell Mort had grown fond of him. So one day when Mort saw that Rako looked interested in strategy, he offered his wisdom.

Rako accepted of course, strategy might come in handy for him in the future, and even if it didn't, well. It was still nice to know.

Rako Hardeen's first taste of the battlefield was when he was 12 years old. The seasons had just changed, and Rako was enjoying a small break from his training. He was sitting in one of the few garden that littered the compound, and was trying to get some rest. That was when the explosion hit.

In less than an instant, a explosion rocked the ground and set it ablaze. The air was suddenly filled with smoke and the smell of burning flesh and blood. Soon after came the yelling. And the sound of blasters firing. In the middle of this Rako froze, just for a second, then he shook it off and ran towards the commotion. _He was a fighter_ , he thought, with clenched teeth and trembling fists. He was a fighter and he was going to fight. When he arrived on the scene, he nearly got his head taken off. It was just one man in armor, and he had fired at him, and was now getting closer and closer.

Rako didn't dodge in time. The shot had hit the right side of his face, and for a second all he could register was _pain, blinding pain _even worse than when he strained his muscles during martial classes, or broke a bone. Then it hit Rako, _why wasn't he dead yet? It had been a good 15 seconds and... nothing_. Rako, with great looked up and then it made sense. His pain forgotten for a moment.__

__While he wasn't looking someone had shot the man in armor in front of him, who was currently struggling to move his arm towards a knife on his belt. The man had been shot both in the shoulder and wrist, while his legs where crushed. It was a surprise he wasn't dead yet, but it seemed everyone was too busy to pay attention to him. _Well, that just means Ill have to finish the job wont I?_ With no hesitation, Rako picked up the blaster that had been dropped by the opponent and took aim._ _

__Now its has to be said. Rako's aim was nothing to scoff at. Currently, he could hit a bulls-eye from up to 100 yards away. He was primarily a sniper after all._ _

__So it should not be a surprise, that even heavily injured and possibly concussed, especially at such a short distance, when Rako took fire the bullet lodged itself firmly in the others mans skull. He fell, limp. Like a puppet with all its strings cut. Rako took a vicious satisfaction that the mans face ended up facing the ground, _(He was petty okay?)_._ _

__Rako didn't fell disgust at killing a sentient being, and why should he? He'd been trained his while life for this. In addition to the fact that in his childhood he chose the path of a bounty hunter, these people had attacked his home. Just as these thoughts finished, the pain from his earlier wound came back full force. Before he could get any coherent thoughts together, someone he recognized as a Hardeen clan doctor had said something, before injecting some clear liquid into his bloodstream. Whatever it was made everything fuzzy, and before he knew it, Rako was sleeping soundly._ _

__

__Later when he woke up, he was told that the shot hit him near his eye. The medics said they were able to salvage the eye, but it would always have worse vision than the other. He was also told that the skin would scar, and asked if he wanted them to make it less noticeable._ _

__Rako thanked them, but politely declined, He said he would take car of it. 2 weeks later, Rako Hardeen walked out of the infirmary with a damaged eye and a tattoo covering most of his scar. While Rako was proud of the scar, he still didn't like the idea of walking around with it so visible. To him, the tattoo was a perfect solution._ _

__

__Rako takes part in many more battles, and eventually, his kills start racking until until hes lost count. By the time he is 17 and ready to leave to start his bounty hunting career, hes studied everything he could. Over his 12 years of training, hes mastered almost all of the basic forms of hand to hand combat available on Concord Dawn to his clan. The amount of weapons hes mastered however, ranges from his sniper rifle to a dart gun, to a knife. He has been told that he can find his own style of fighting, and add on skills as he travels to more places in the galaxy._ _

__Him setting off was a quite affair, some of his close friends like Mort, seeing him off. He was wearing some modified mandilorian armor, with yellow accents and fur lining the collar. The armor and helmet were made to fit him, a 6'2 male. And it fit beautifully. Rako had decided to stop at Taris first, to start his bounty hunting career. In addition to being relatively close to Concord Dawn, compared to other planets, Taris's lower levels were a great place for crime. Not to mention that Travis had one been a great trading hub, so he was bound to find some things there. While his looks, with bright blue eyes, and a shaved head with a tattoo across his face weren't the norm he was still pretty normal compared to Taris's residents._ _

__So without much fanfare, 17 year old Rako Hardeen boarded his ship. It was a small one, but enough to house at least two people if needed. After double checking he had everything (he did) he set in the coordinates for Taris, 271.806, 290.318, and jumped to hyperspace._ _

__When Rako finally arrived at Taris, it was alot to take in. The separation between higher and lower class,however, was easy to see. After asking around for a little while, and getting no small amount of sneers in return, he finally found where he could start off his career. A small pub on the end of a particularly poor street, and despite it being broad daylight, no one was in the street. As soon as Rako entered the pub, he figured out why. Inside were many different sentient's, all either talking or drinking. On a board on one side of the room, there were many different posters attached._ _

__These were the available bounties, for beginners of course._ _

__From what Rako had been able to understand, on many planets there were pubs like these, managed by some of the largest organization leaders in the galaxy, like the Hutts, Trade Confederation, Banking Clan, and many others. These pubs were merely a way to get you're name out. If a bounty hunter caught a managers eye, they would be recommended to the leaders. The leaders then hired you for a much more difficult target. If you completed that and the leader accepted you, you had two choices. One was sign a contract, stay under the leaders employ and be backed by them, or become a freelance bounty hunter able to be hired by anyone they wanted, If the bounty hunter flourished, they would owe the leader 3 favors._ _

__After this came the tiers of freelancers. High, Medium, an Low. The High tier bounty hunters were the best off the best. The medium were the ones who were effective, but the occasional target slipped by them. While the low tiered bounty hunters were powerful, but the more dangerous opponents like Jedi Knights and above eluded them._ _

__The tiers were determined by how powerful the bounties where, how much they cost, the employers status, and a bounty hunters Sucsess:Fail ratio._ _

__Rako walked over to the wall with his helmet on, and took a rather low bounty. It made sense, he supposed, as many people were focused on the Trade Federation/Naboo conflict. Anyway it was 2000 credits, it would be a good start. With that he turned around and left the pub. The poster said the target was on Taris, he didn't even need to go off world!_ _

__

___4 years later_ _ _

__Rako Hardeen was proud to say he was a High Tier freelance bounty hunter. From the beginning of his career, he had come far. Taking many missions, hes killed a variety of different people using a variety of skills. His most noticeable kills were more than a handful of jedi, and he had made it clear that he was the one who did it. Something that he would later come to regret, although it was a useful lesson. His armor had also changed since the beginning. Instead of the armor,(that he still had) he now wore a simple black shirt and cargo pants, with a gas mask and visor covering his face. His bounty hunter name was MISK. It was the name he gave his employers._ _

__Now while Normally Rako Hardeen was proud to say he was one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy, today he cursed it. It made him an easy target. His last mission involved him killing a Jedi Master and the padawan. He had succeeded, but hadn't noticed another jedi, a knight,behind him. Already exhausted from the fight, Rako had let his guard down and paid for it. The Jedi had pounced on him with his lightsaber and cut a large gash in his torso. The jedi had then jumped out of the line of fire, but not before Rako had shot him through the shoulder and stomach._ _

__He would have finished the jedi, but he heard reinforcements and he was too injured to fight them. In the end, he cut his losses and retreated. That had been two weeks ago. It seemed his success as a bounty hunter had made him cocky, and he forgot all about strategy. Now he was paying for it by being chased by 3 jedi masters, and Mace Windu himself. It seemed the Jedi Order had had enough. Now he was running across the rooftops of Naboo homes, trying to outlast them. He was passing a market road before he had an idea._ _

__He jumped off the roof and into the crowd, quickly locating he speeder he saw. With a total disregard for the well being of the people around him, he started the speeder and drove off. Unfortunately it seemed his luck had run out, and he had managed to get himself cornered on a smooth and steep cliff face, with water at the bottom that would tear him apart. He had just finished his assessment of the situation when the jedi finally arrived._ _

__"MISK" Mace Windu called out, pausing and then continuing. "The Jedi Council has ruled that for the damage that you have done, you needed to be taken care of". He then paused as if waiting for an answer.__

__Rako had a bad feeling about this. His luck had run out and he was cornered, he was about to die, and he knew it._ _

____

__

__

Rako took a deep breath, and though fuck it, if he was going to die, it was going to be like a Mandalorian. Going down fighting. So he calmly drove the speeder forward as peacefully as possible, and,....

Shot one of the Jedi Masters in the throat, killing him instantly.

That was when the other three sprung into action, lightsaber swinging. Knowing he couldn't beat Mace Windu, Rako jumped back as far as possible to avoid him. He put a good fight, but in the end he was no match for three jedi masters at once, still injured. As a last attempt he shot the speeders gas tank, it would probably kill him, Rako knew this. But he was already heavily injured and unless he got a moment alone, he would die from injuries. So he didn't panic when the blast threw him off the cliff, didn't panic when he saw the rushing waters below, just calmly accepted his fate.

But before he could completely disappear over the ledge, he lifted his sniper rifle one last time and shot one of the jedi, who was off balance, in the head.

Right before he lost sight of the ledge, he looked as Mace Windu, right at him.

And smiled. It was a mocking smile, showing that in the end, Rako won. And he knew it. Even though Rako would be dead in less than an hour, he had won. He could tell it grated on Mace's nerves, he was clenching his fist so hard it was wight. That one action made his victory that much sweeter. Then he lost sight of the ledge and began his deadly free fall.

Mace Windu was not happy. Quite the opposite in fact. He had been sent to Naboo with three other jedi masters to kill a high risk bounty hunter, MISK. He had been told to come at the situation with extra caution, but he ignored the warning. Now, because of his foolishness, 2 masters of the order were dead. He should have seen the signs. After all, the man had not only risen to prominence so quickly, but had managed to keep his face and identity a secret. That was an impressive feat, even if Mace was reluctant to admit it. Not everyone could keep the nosy Hutts out of their personal business.

Mace sighed. He needed to report these happenings, and get back to Coruscant. MISK was dead and so his mission was complete. Before returning back to the ship, Mace asked the other jedi, a wookie, to gather up the other bodies and bring them to a ship. Then he nodded to him and walked away.

It was only around a month later, that Mace found time to call the council. Mace took a second to school his face into a mask of calm professionalism, before connecting to the Jedi Council. In moments, an familiar pair of eyes was on him. Mace cursed his luck, of course the green gremlin would be the only one available. They just stared at each other for a few moments, before Master Yoda initiated a conversation.

"Me, with news you call, hmm?"

Mace took a deep breath before replying,

"Yes, I would like to inform you that the mission was a success,". Here Mace hesitated.

"But...?", Master Yoda prompted.

"Unfortunately before he was killed, He managed to eliminate both jedi master Pam and jedi master Mo-Key. Have the labs figured out who MISK was yet?"

"Have not, they have. Whisper of MISK's future appearances, the force does,:"

"You mean he might still be alive?"

"Not sure, I am. Only will tell time. Return to Coruscant, you must"

"Yes Master,"

With those words the transmission ended, and Mace Windu, along with his wookie companion, headed to Coruscant. 

They were unaware of the powerful enemy they just made, and would remain that way for years to come.


	2. What Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rako heals and plots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im sorry if I get some facts wrong im using wookiepedia to get the most accurate information. Also im researching the mandalorian culture but for some events there are no dates so im estimating. If I get any facts wrong, please inform me.
> 
> Italics is mando'a unless stated otherwise.
> 
> I used a English to mandalorian translation and all translations are at the bottom.
> 
> Also sometimes Rako thinks in Mando'a because its his native langauge.

The first sign Rako Hardeen was alive was a small twitch of his fingers. (It was a miracle)

The twitch was so subtle, that you would have to be kneeling next to him to see it.

Then it was the full bodied shutter that ran through his body, and his quiet groan. There was a moment or two of silence, then Rako's eyes darted open and he shot up into a sitting position. Well, he tried to anyway, the injuries made it hard to move without something hurting.

The first thing Rako registered after waking up was the pounding in his head and his body feeling like it was on fire. Then his mind caught up with his body and _ohmygodthishurtspainmakeitstopmakeitstopstopsto-_ Rako wanted to do nothing more than scream, but even an amateur knew making a loud noise when an enemy could be in the area was stupid.

Rako Hardeen was no amateur.

So he bit his lip until it bled and with no small amount of pain, dragged his body towards a small alcove in the cliff side. Then he passed out.

The first thing Rako did when he woke up again was check his injuries. From what he could see, he had broken his left leg, bruised his ribs, and gained many more scars to add to his ever growing collection. That was when he noticed the trail of blood. It came from his current resting place to the one he originally woke up in. Upon seeing what was right next to it, the first words out of Rako's mouth was, "Thank the kriffin force im alive,". Followed by plenty of curing in Mando'a as he realizing what his situation meant.

The reason for his upset was the territory he landed in. From what little he could see of the area around were he landed, it was a swamp. Not just any swamp, but a Sinking Swamp native to Naboo. If you landed in it, it would swallow you and was near impossible to get out of. In his weakened state, Rako would have died almost immediately. Though he supposed he should be thankful, as the area around the Swamp was soft and had most probably been what saved his life.

But that didn't change the fact that he was alone, injured, and utterly exhausted. There was also nobody around.

So this meant, after Rako fixed himself up using the supplies he kept in his coat, he had plenty of time to plan. 

One thing that was immediately pretty clear was that he had messes up. Big time. He had rushed into things to fast and nearly lost his life. What he needed to do was get off planet, heal, and return as a new face on the bounty hunting scene. Not that he wouldn't keep his skills sharp, he would, of course. It was better to be thought of powerful, but not too big of a threat. This would give him an easier time moving freely, and with his veteran Bounty knowledge, he could earn a monstrous amount of credits. The thing that only sweetened the deal is that no one would go out of their way to bother him! These days, being so well known had given him the respect and fear of the Outer Rim citizens, Many Mid rim, and some rare Core planets.

However that was as much of a blessing as it was a curse. While the mandalorian he was loved it. He also acknowledged that the feelings other people had towards him could get annoying when he went somewhere to relax. Another tempting, if unexpected benefit of starting over. Once again, he mentally thanked his 17 year old self for choosing not to reveal their identity. After a bit more pondering, he had finally decided on the specifics.

He would now go by his real name, Rako Hardeen, and wear a modified version of his old armor. Rako would aim for a middle spot in the unofficial rankings, and stay there unless pressed or he got bored. To his employers and the galaxy, he would only reveal his marksmanship and Martial Arts skills. This way he could be either an assassin or collect his bounties by brute force. This was purely a strategic move. While to an Core worlder, it might seem like picking someone with a complete mastery over only one skill was a good move, it really wasn't. The majority of employers (With few exceptions) would look for someone who had many skills, as these people were prepared for something to go wrong. These types were also generally the ones paying the most.

All the specifics decided, Rako reapplied the bandages to his injuries, and once again went to sleep. He would need all the energy he could get to get off planet.

Rako had finally found a Space Port that had a ship which was flying the Triellus Trade Run. From what he could tell, it was a Spice ship. They were going to be stopping at every planet to deliver the Cargo until going back to Naboo. It seemed his only option was to try and get a temporary post on it. He had tried all the passenger ships in the area but none of them were going to Tatooine.

It just so happened that the ship needed a mechanic, and the previous one had turned up dead a couple weeks ago.(He really needed to get off planet, he also didn't half ass things).

In the few weeks he had been on Naboo, he had healed well. There were still some nasty bruises but they would clear up soon. After he had gotten to civilization, his first order of business had been finding someone rich to steal from. He had managed to get his hands on what looked to be a royal advisers wallet (He could tell by the headdress, and the prideful smirk most of them wear). With that generous amount of money, he had gotten himself some decent clothes. Now instead of a Bounty Hunter, he looked like an honest harmless worker.

Anyways, he made his way to the docks were the ship had docked, and smoothly inserted himself into what seemed to be an argument of some crew members.

"Excuse me?". As one, the two men turned around to see who the newcomer was. Now that he had their attention, he started talking before they could process enough to get angry.

"I heard that you're crew was looking for a temporary mechanic?"

The shorter man, a Rodian, looked like he wanted to say something, but was cut off by his friend. The man, a Gungan, Rako noted with some surprise, said in a heavily accented Basic dialect,

"Yes, do you want, and have the qualifications for the position?"

"Why yes, I do,"

"How many credits do you want to be paid?"

"200 credits, I want to be dropped off Tatooine as well". The Gungan stood for a moment thinking over the offer. Eventually he agreed. Very reluctantly. That seemed to be when the Rodian pulled the Gungan over and spoke in face paced Rodese,

" _What are you doing! Already replacing Ranon with a stranger! How do you even know he has any mechanical skills?_ "

" _Relax, im not replacing Ranon. You heard the man, its temporary. Besides, if hes lying, we can always knock him out and sell him when we land on Tatooine. Its not like The Modele will fall apart if we dont have one,_ "

From where he was standing right next to them, Rako could clearly hear what they were saying. It seemed the two had made an amateurish mistake, and assumed he didn't know Rodese. The conversation had also confirmed some things he was suspicious about. The ship had seemed to be too worn to have been a simple supply ship. Now, Rako knew for sure these men were smugglers. He also kind of recognized them too.

If he remembered correctly, a group of smugglers had recently majorly pissed of Jabba the Hutt. These smugglers were famous for having a base of operations on Naboo, and his intuition told him these people were the right ones. _Te ancestors were looking dayn par kaysh_ , it was his lucky day.

If he killed the whole crew and brought the heads to Jabba, he might start supporting him. This would give him a head start to the middle. Rako wanted to solidify his position as soon as possible, and Jabba's support was just what he needed. If that didn't work then he would have to bring a large amount of credits. A large enough amount that one of the Bounty Hunters in Jabba's palace challenged him for it. Then he could show off his marksmanship. Based on Rako's previous interaction with the Hutt. He would at least support him for the possible entertainment factor. The plan was solid, but first he needed to actually _get_ a large amount of credits, so it seemed he would have to play some sabacc first.

With those plans in mind, he followed the two smugglers, Gundal and Simon, onto the Modele.

_After ibic whole mess was don bal jaon ti, kaysh really needed brokar get a pirur_

Rako had been on The Modele for all of two days. The only thing he had to say was that he understood why the smugglers got on peoples nerves. _Kriffin haran_. They were so devastatingly loud, that all he wanted was to do was rip out their _Tongues bal naritir bullets o'r their skulls._

It was times like these he regretted leaving his ship on Tatooine, before fleeing the jeti chasing him. All his things were on the ship, including his favorite, his first sniper rifle. Bu that didn't matter much now, all Rako needed to do was survive on the ship for a couple more days. They were in hyperspace right now and he couldn't afford to snap and kill them now. He was unfamiliar with the ship, although he knew exactly what build it was. Knowing of it, didn't mean he knew about it, after all. 

Since he didn't have any weapons on him (his blaster had fallen somewhere). Rako had to steal one of Simon's. For some reason, the Rodian still had not noticed. He didn't know if it was amusing or pitiful.........No, it was definitely amusing. Not that his amusement would save them from dying. Thinking along this line of though somehow led him to his newest problem, Duchess Satine Kryze.

He had already known of her, of course he did, all true Mandalorians did. Before he had no quarrel with her, but very recently, she started denying all ties to her Mandalorian roots. Rako understood the importance of peace, but Satine was taking it too far. She had no right to speak on his clans behalf. About how they would give up their ancient heritage because she didn't like violence. In Rako's eyes, Satine Kryze had no right to rule Mandalore. Her sister didn't either. From what he had heard, Bo joined Death Watch. Both were heretics. Both were causing the traditions to die out.

However, not all was lost. The Mand'alor was still Jango Fett. If the allegiance had changed, he would have felt it, like all True Mandalorians. They may not have been jeti, but such a important tradition was part of what made them who they were. From what Rako could tell, either Satine was not aware of this tradition, or she was withholding the information. He would need to check that later. This course of events was unacceptable. Rako Hardeen would remain loyal to his roots and continue valuing his culture until the day he died.

Rako supossed it was a grand goal. But nothing he couldn't handle.

Sitting on his temporary bed on board The Modele, Rako smiled and whispered, " _Bic will not ramaanar dayn_.

Only two more days, and Rako Hardeen could start over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Te ancestors were looking dayn par kaysh= The ancestors were looking out for him.
> 
> After ibic whole mess was don bal jaon ti, kaysh really needed brokar get a pirur= After this whole mess was done and over with, he really needed to get a drink
> 
> Kriffin haran= Kriffin hell
> 
> Tongues bal naritir bullets o'r their skulls= tongues and put bullets in their skulls
> 
> Bic will not ramaanar dayn= It will not die out.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright this will be continued.
> 
> Also the reason he was able to kill the jedi master easily and with seemingly no resistance was because they were off balance. Not so say Rako isn't strong. He is.  
> Im sorry if I get some facts wrong, its been a while seen I watched star wars.


End file.
